These are the numbers of certificates of candidacy (CoCs) for president, vice president and senator, respectively, that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has initially approved for the national elections in May.

These figures were trimmed from the 99 presidential aspirants, 20 vice presidential hopefuls and 158 senatorial wannabes who filed CoCs from Nov. 20 to Dec. 1.

That the Comelec excluded some people—including environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, who filed a CoC for president as an independent, and gay activist Danton Remoto, who filed a CoC for senator also as independent candidate—did not mean that they were nuisance candidates.

Melo said the poll body did not approve the CoCs of other people because it appeared that they did not have the capacity and resources to launch a national campaign, one of the requirements mandated by the Comelec.